CoinMarketCap News, Nov 23: How to Handle an Awkward Thanksgiving

A year ago, when mania surrounding Bitcoin and Ether was at its peak, countless enthusiasts would have been breathlessly talking about their potential around the dinner table. It's highly possible that aunts and uncles would have been enticed into making an investment.

But following a brutal bear market and a spate of bankruptcies, many will be nursing painful paper losses when compared with this time a year ago. And as the turkey is carved, crypto bros could end up facing some uncomfortable questions.

So… what's the best approach to take if you're confronted by an angry grandpa who has lost $250 after aping into SHIBA INU? What do you say to a grumpy stepfather who now owns an NFT that's worth 90% less than what he paid for it? And heaven forbid, what do you tell a loved one who had stored their crypto on FTX, Celsius or Voyager?

Honesty could be an option. Few people could have predicted that Sam Bankman-Fried would turn from savior to villain in such a short space of time. And with regards to the fall in the wider markets, Bitcoin is known for operating in four-year cycles of boom and bust.

For inexperienced investors who are still holding on to their BTC, perhaps the best advice is to urge them to adopt a long-term view. The likes of Michael Saylor regularly stress that the best approach is to HODL through adversity. "Bitcoin, not crypto" is another common phrase doing the rounds — establishing clear blue water between BTC and other coins. Maximalists are still unshaken in their belief despite the carnage we're seeing in this bear market. Maybe you could spend a little time telling your relatives how to self-custody instead of storing their funds on an exchange.

The atmosphere is going to be gloomy. There's no escaping it. But perhaps we need to remember how this feels. That way, when the next bull market comes along, we'll be a little more measured when talking to our families — and not as breathless. We'll remember to tell them that BTC is volatile, that the crypto markets are risky, and that there's no guarantee of big returns. This will ensure that they're armed with all the facts when deciding whether they want to make an investment.

A bankruptcy lawyer representing FTX's new management has said the doomed crypto exchange was Sam Bankman-Fried's "personal fiefdom." James Bromley called the case "unprecedented" — and warned the company's demise is "one of the most abrupt and difficult collapses in the history of corporate America." He went on to reveal that a substantial amount of FTX's assets are either stolen or missing. As for FTX's coffers, documents filed on Monday with the court say the restructuring team more than doubled the amount of cash it has found to $1.2 billion — still well below the $3.1 billion owed to just the expansive FTX Group's 50 largest creditors. It may be months, or even years, before customers see funds again.

If crypto lender Genesis can't find $1 billion soon, it may be forced into bankruptcy — becoming the latest victim of the FTX exchange's implosion earlier this month. The embattled company has been seeking an urgent cash infusion after revealing that it had loaned $175 million with insufficient collateral. It has turned without success to Binance and Apollo Global Management among others. A spokesperson has said that no bankruptcy filing was coming "imminently" and that it "continues to have constructive conversations with creditors." But more than anything, Genesis' troubles are indicative of the way the financial troubles of one company spread throughout the crypto industry.

A Meta executive has denied reports that Mark Zuckerberg is planning to step down as CEO next year. The tech entrepreneur is having a pretty bad year — with investors unconvinced by his firm belief that the metaverse represents the next frontier of social media. Meta has been pouring billions of dollars into Horizon Worlds, and may only start to turn a profit in years to come. The rumor fails to take one thing into account: Zuckerberg controls about 55% of the social media giant's voting stock. One thing that stockholders can do, and are doing, is walk away. META shares are down 70% this year, with drops in the 20%-plus range coming with each quarterly earnings report.

More than half of all Bitcoin addresses are now in the red. According to analysis site IntoTheBlock, with the post-FTX exchange implosion dip taking the price down to levels not seen since November 2020, the average purchase price of 55% of all Bitcoin addresses is now below what the owners paid for them. That leaves 44% in the black and just 1% at break even, at the price of $16,156 when IntoTheBlock took its most recent snapshot. A huge number of investors now face long bankruptcy limbo, with funds likely lost following the collapse of FTX. Countless others got burned when major crypto lenders such as Celsius and Voyager Digital went under — adding to a growing sense that winning back the trust of retail investors could be a long process.

India is about to begin a major pilot of its hastily developed central bank digital currency. As many as 400,000 consumers will take part in the trial, with the government concerned that stablecoins could pose a real threat to the rupee. The State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank will each test the digital rupee with 10,000 to 50,000 customers as well as selected merchants, the Economic Times said. It'll be interoperable with current payment platforms and stored in an e-wallet — and as time goes on, the rupee will be integrated with mobile and web banking services. The Reserve Bank of India has said it plans for the digital rupee to complement rather than replace other forms of payment.